Have you ever seen a child romp through the forest? Have you listened to a child talking while walking through the mountains? Sure, hiking with children is difficult, slower, tedious and harder on your back, but there is a different level of wonder that is seen through a child's eyes.

Muir Grove in Sequoia National Park might not be a big attraction but it truly is a nice hike. The great thing about Sequoia National Park is that there are Sequoias very near the General's Highway. This gives great accessibility BUT this also means very large crowds which is something my family is not a big fan of. We wanted to see the Sequoias but wanted the solitude of the "Outdoors", so off we headed hiking to Muir Woods near Dorst Creek Campground.

Hiking to the Sequoias

This is a moderate, family-friendly, 4.2 mile round trip hike to Muir Grove, but in all reality we added a little over 2 miles for a total of 6.3 miles from our campground in Dorst Creek. We walked from our campsite to the trailhead but we got a little confused about where it was, we eventually found the Muir Grove trailhead but added two miles over all to the hike. Every step adds up when you think about it. The trailhead is near the campsite #178, which crosses a little bridge over Cabin Creek.

Immediately on the trail, we enjoyed the sounds of the flowing Cabin Creek and were glad the creek was not dried up yet due to California's severe drought. It was quite refreshing to hear water flowing and to see the greenery all around us.

The hike has a slight uphill trail to Muir Grove with sections of flat and down hill sections. The trail is a very shaded with just one section of exposed granite halfway to Muir Grove. There were signs of bears everywhere....almost every fallen tree had been shredded by bears so we made sure our son never ran ahead. I happily told my son to blow his whistle as much as he wanted! Thankfully we never saw a bear while hiking to Muir Grove. All we saw was lush beautiful forest greenery!!

Ferns galore...

Just hiking along...

My daughters view point from down below...

I would suggest taking a kid carrier for little ones who can't hike this distance. My 4 year old son was able to hike the entire 6.3 miles but my 2 year old could not. Of course when we saw the Sequoias down the trail, everyone got excited to see the REALLY BIG TREES!!

Entering Muir Grove

Doesn't matter how many times I see Sequoias I'm always blown away by their sheer size. They provide a perspective that only Sequoias can provide. Just seeing the Sequoias brought back my happy childhood memories of endlessly running around the base of the trees with my older brother. I was very happy we had hiked out to Muir Grove with my children.

"Daddy, Mommy! Those trees are REALLY BIG! And they have caves!" my toddlers squealed. Now I understand why my parents brought my brother and me to Sequoia National Park so much.

When we arrived to Muir Grove, a couple of hikers were having lunch but they quickly packed up and left. We packed our lunch as well: Bolillo sandwiches. We enjoyed a picnic all by ourselves in the middle of Muir Grove. After lunch, my son and I explored the "caves" and I happily listened to my son imagining finding bears in the tree hollows and pretending to scare them. A little bit of family time at Muir Grove....

Time to EXPLORE....

Daughter hugging daddy, surrounded by the Sequoias hugging us....

Always look up....

The world from inside the tree, from my daughters eyes....

I must say this might not be a popular hike in Sequoia National Park but it was my family favorite. Muir Grove...where we played hide and seek, had Bolillo sandwiches and pretended we were giant bears in the tree trunks. Welcome to the world of family hiking, it's more fun this way.

Elevation Change: 896 ft

Trails Description: Out and back trail, slight uphill hike

What's your favorite day hike in Sequoia National Park?

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